EU/Sanctions

EU/Sanctions  (Sanctions)

The EU sanctions countries, companies and individuals; some abroad, some on it's own territory.

Official narrative

The European Union enacts sanctions in order to advance "the greater good", not suppress dissenting opinion in it's own population.

History

"The EU has been imposing sanctions on individuals since the 2000s, increasingly since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2014, and even more so since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022. The measures aim, under arbitrarily changing pretexts, at representatives and real or alleged supporters of opposing states. These individuals are no longer allowed to enter the EU; if they have assets there, they are frozen. In addition, no assets may be transferred to them from the EU. This means that they are prohibited from doing business with individuals, companies, and organizations from the EU. Sanctions have been imposed on the leaders of Russia and Belarus, including the presidents of both countries, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko. The measures also affect oligarchs and leading military figures, as well as individuals who merely provide services to tankers belonging to the so-called shadow fleet. According to an online “sanctions tracker” published by the EU, sanctions had been imposed on 4,270 individuals by January 2026. The vast majority of them live outside the EU and do not have citizenship of an EU member state.

Last year, for the first time, the EU moved away from imposing sanctions only on citizens of opposing states. This affects EU citizens who live outside the Union, including German bloggers Thomas Röper and Alina Lipp, as well as French military expert Xavier Moreau, who live in Russia. On the other hand, the EU has also sanctioned individuals living in a member state for the first time, such as German journalist Hüseyin Doğru, who is based in Germany, and Swiss publicist Jacques Baud, who lives in Belgium. The consequences are severe. Because no one is allowed to do business with either of them, they are not allowed to earn money or buy anything. Anyone who provides them with material support is immediately guilty of violating the sanctions and will be punished. In Doğru's case, the sanctions also affect his wife and children. If he wants to buy food or medicine, he needs a special humanitarian permit."

Concerns

It stands to reason that the sanctioning of individuals living in the EU, that do rob them of basic human rights, does not happen in vacuum. While Jacques Baud has argued that this may be a mere administrative mistake, it is more likely that together with Nathalie Yamb and the earlier sanctioning of Hüseyin Doğru (along with many more from Russia and Ukraine, who have voiced opinions not in line with EU foreign policy views), there is a clear strategy to silence unwanted voices and to set precedent. Jacques Baud having the most notable career on a level that also has signaling effect for other professionals, not just journalists.

 

EU/Sanctions victims on Wikispooks

Title	Description
Jacques Baud	Swiss colonel and geopolitical analyst sanctioned by the EU for his writings.
Hüseyin Doğru	German national who was sanctioned for his reporting
Alina Lipp	German independent journalist and former Green Party politician living in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass
Diana Panchenko	Ukrainian journalist. Condemned by a 2024 Reporters Without Borders hit piece.
Thomas Röper	German journalist covering Russia related topics and Corona.
Nathalie Yamb	Cameroonian-Swiss activist well-known for opposing the actions of France in Africa, which she describe as colonial. Sanctioned by France and the EU.

Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.